"We will never stop until justice is done for Joe" - Deacy family

"We will never rest until the person who killed Joe is brought to justice." That was the message from the Deacy family and their supporters on Sunday afternoon when a large crowd gathered at the spot where Joe Deacy was found dying six years ago. The 21-year-old from St Albans in England was on holiday in Mayo when he was found with head injuries outside a house near Swinford, on the morning of August 12, 2017. He died the following day at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital.

Every since, the grieving family and their supporters have driven the 'Justice For Joe' campaign in an attempt to bring the killer to justice and gardai launched a murder probe after a postmortem examination confirmed Joe died from “blunt force trauma to the head.”

"It tears at us and the appalling pain of losing Joe is still as fresh today as it was on the day we received the dreaded phone call," Joe's uncle, Paul told The Mayo News at the memorial walk on Sunday. "We're more determined today than we've ever been and we're delighted to see such a great turnout for this walk. People came from near and far to support us and so many people want to see justice finally done. 

"We will never give up and we will keep fighting every single day. That's the message we're sending out today. We will never rest until justice is done," Paul added.

The memorial walk was the second of two weekend events remembering the young man who was a fervent Mayo GAA and West Ham fan. On Saturday, a football match between St Colmcille's GAA Club and a group of Joe's friends, The Hammers, was played in St Albans Irish Club before Sunday's memorial walk to the spot where he was found dying.

Over the weekend, Joe's grieving father Adrian encouraged people to come forward with the slightest bit of information even at this six-year remove.

"Any information received by the Gardai will be investigated in a professional and confidential manner. If someone provides information that leads us to finding out who savagely murdered our son, they will have the appreciation of the Gardai and our family’s eternal gratitude," he added.